The Magic Of Christmas
by Natalie Elizabeth
Summary: There is a murder at the North Pole and there is only one team who can help Santa solve this crime. Set season 4 Caskett
1. Chapter 1

**As writers we ask a lot from complete strangers. Not only do we expect them to want to read our stories based on a twenty word summary, but we then expect them to read our story, enjoy it and then write a review. Whether they write a review or not, they still receive a new chapter or a new story. So there really isn't much of an incentive to write a review, right? Well there is one very special reviewer out there who doesn't read your chapter once she reads it twice, like Santa. She then goes and writes a constructive, helpful and fun review. I came back onto the fan fic scene earlier this year; my intention was to write 1 short little fic and then move on to reading others. It has been ten years since I was heavily into the fan fic scene. Thanks to her helpful and rewarding reviews of my story Strange, Weird and Wonderful, I decided to embark on another writing journey, thus creating my now longest fic ever, Ain't No Mountain High Enough. During one of our many discussions she mentioned that when she entered the Castle Secret Santa challenge that she was the only one who requested a story about Castle and Beckett meeting Santa. This really surprised her and made me think, this is what she would really like to read a story about. And how can she read a story, that hasn't been written? So I decided to write it for her as a Xmas present despite the fact that I wasn't her secret Santa.**

**So to author and fantastic reviewer Little Lizzie Zentara. Thank you for your wonderful reviews; you truly are an amazing person. Our friendship over the past few months has been an unexpected delight. Thank you so much, Merry Christmas.**

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><p>The Magic of Christmas<p>

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Beckett woke with a start; she wasn't sure why she had woken up. She instantly grabbed the gun under her pillow, something was wrong. Someone was in her home, she heard them moving around. Sitting up, she stealthily made her way towards the sound of someone shuffling around. Spying a huge frame waking towards her Beckett raised her arms and pointed her gun at the figure.

"NYPD, stop where you are."

The figure before her shot up his hands.

"Don't shoot. I mean you no harm."

Beckett continued to point her gun as she fumbled with the light switch. When the light came on Beckett stared in shock. Never in a million years could she have imagined that the person who had broken into her apartment would be dressed the way this man was dressed.

"What the…?"

"Please Ms. Beckett, I need your help."

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Beckett glanced over towards her front door which was closed. "How did you get in here?"

The man before her lowered his hands and placed them on his belly as he gave out a loud jolly laugh.

"Hands up!" She yelled at the intruder.

"Ms. Beckett, I mean you no harm. There has been a murder and tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I need your help to figure out who did it or I can't do my job and you must realise how important it is."

Beckett shook her head. What!

"Look, if there has been a murder than call 911, don't go breaking into my apartment."

"Calling 911 isn't really possible where I live and I didn't break into your apartment."

"Then how did you get in? And you still haven't answered my question: Who are you?"

The man laughed again. "Ms. Beckett, do I really need to answer either of those questions?"

"If you don't want to get shot, yes."

The man gave a laugh again. "I can see why you are so good at your job. The answer to both of your questions is that I am Santa Claus."

Beckett starred at the man in the red suit.

"Right, now who are you really?"

The man shook his head. "Always the sceptic. I guess you need proof."

Beckett watched in shock as her white flannel arm that was holding the gun at the man in front of her was suddenly covered in red wool. Glancing down she saw that she was now fully clothed. Jeans, boots, red coat. What the…?

"What's going on?"

"I told you, Ms. Beckett, there has been a murder at the North Pole. I need you and your team to come with me now and find out who did it. Please."

Beckett looked at the man before her. His suit looked to be made of good quality fabric, not like those almost see through ones Santas on street corners wore. His boots were super shinny and black and she had to admit his beard looked real.

"Ok so maybe you are who you say you are. Who was murdered?"

"My Reindeer Wrangler."

Beckett raised her eyebrows. "Reindeer Wrangler?"

"He is the elf that is in charge of looking after my reindeers. He trains them, looks after what they eat, everything. He was found dead and I need to find out who did it. I can't have a bad seed on my team. I need to find out who killed him before Christmas Eve. I can't deliver presents if there is a bad vibe at the North Pole; it taints all the gifts I deliver. I don't want to have another repeat of the Christmas of 76."

Beckett contemplated what he had said.

"Ok, so you want me to go with you to figure out who killed your Reindeer Wrangler."

Santa nodded at her. "Yes and time is of the essence. Christmas Eve is tomorrow, after all."

Beckett nodded at him. She was still a bit confused. Santa had come into her apartment and wanted her to solve a murder. Yes it was weird but if what Santa said was true, Christmas was on the line here. It had been years since she had really celebrated Christmas but she didn't want to be the reason others couldn't enjoy it.

"Umm ok, let's go." She walked towards the door when Santa placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Allow me."

Beckett heard the jingle of bells and then was suddenly standing on the street outside her apartment. Before her stood a horse and carriage similar to those that took tourists through Central Park, except this was a little different. Eight horses were attached to the carriage which seemed a bit of an over kill considering at the moment there were only four people in the carriage.

"Lanie, Esposito, Ryan, Jenny. What are you guys doing here?"

"Santa needed us to help solve a murder," Ryan told her.

Jenny held up her hand. "I'm just along for the ride." She then quickly tucked it back under the blanket she was sharing with Ryan and Esposito.

"If you could get in, Ms. Beckett, we still have one more stop to make."

Beckett climbed into the carriage and took the empty seat next to Lanie before the carriage took off.

"Thank goodness you're here, girl. I am freezing!"

Beckett pulled the blanket over herself and snuggled close to her friend.

"I offered to sit with you instead of making a Ryan sandwich with Jenny."

Lanie shook her head at Esposito who was sitting across from her. "I am not going to respond to that with Santa sitting behind me and Christmas one day away."

Beckett rubbed her hands over her ears as the wind whipped past and chilled her body. She now understood why Santa wore a hat. Within no time the carriage pulled up in front of a familiar looking building.

Santa turned from his position at the reins to address his travel companions.

"I'll just go and get Mr. Castle. Hopefully I won't be as long as last time." He then disappeared in front of their eyes.

"What took you so long, Beckett?" Ryan and Jenny had been Santa's first stop. The couple then had to wait for Esposito, then Lanie, then Beckett who by far had taken the longest.

"A guy in a red suit comes into my apartment in the middle of the night; you don't think I'm going to ask questions?"

"Hey guys."

Beckett turned to see Castle climbing into the carriage and taking the seat next to her. He picked up the blanket edge and covered himself with it. Santa climbed into the driver's seat and started his team of horses.

"Santa, you were gone like a second."

Santa shrugged. "All I said was I needed his help to solve a murder at the North Pole, I didn't even have to show him magic first."

Castle rubbed his hands together. "This is so cool. Santa needs our help to solve a murder."

"Hold on, everyone."

The gang watched as the horses gained speed at an alarming rate. The sound of jingle bells could be heard before the carriage they were in changed into a bright red sleigh. The horses then transformed into reindeer and lifted off the ground. The eyes of everyone in the carriage bulged out of their heads.

"Beckett, check this out!" Castle said, pointing to the glittering lights below.

Beckett leaned over Castle to look at the lights below but the wind gathered up her hair, blocking her view. Her leather gloved hand swatted at her face trying to clear her view. Castle elbowed her while trying to dig something out of his pocket. He produced a woolen item and handed it to her.

"Here, I know you normally don't wear a hat but I figured if we are going to be dashing through the snow you might need one."

Beckett took the item and placed it on her head before leaning over again, watching the lights of New York City get smaller and smaller.

"Ok team lets go. Now Daniel, Now, Dawn! Now, Paul, and Violet! On, Chris! On, Charlie! On, Don and Bob!"

The gang looked at each other and frowned. Bob! Finally Castle took the initiative.

"Ah Santa, aren't the reindeers called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen? Oh, and we can't forget Rudolf. At least they are in all the story books and writers never get the details wrong." He chose that point to look at his friends who had raised their eye brows at him. "Well, thanks to you guys I never get the details wrong."

Santa laughed. "This is my 'B team.' You never hear about them in the stories. The reindeers you know and love are my 'A team'. I use my 'B team' to get around and if anyone on my 'A team' isn't up to standard on Christmas Eve."

"Santa has an 'A Team', that is so cool!" Castle gushed with delight.

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><p><strong>Authors Note: Ok just a warning this story is going to be weird and unusual. I am taking certain liberties with Christmas folk lore and adjusting it to my liking; you may never look at Christmas the same way again.<strong>

**Make my Christmas and review pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.**


	2. Chapter 2

The Magic Of Christmas

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Due to the wind the chatter was at a minimum as they made their way to the North Pole. On more than one occasion Beckett had to swat Castle's hands away as he kept poking and prodding the walls of the sleigh looking for secret compartments. Eventually they felt the sleigh start to descend but not slow down.

"Whoa, team! Take it easy. Slow down."

Beckett turned to look at Lanie and the two of them held on to each other; it felt like they were on a plane that was about to land but wasn't slowing down.

"Stop team, stop-p-p-p."

They hit the ground hard and then felt the sleigh slide before it eventually stopped.

"Are you alright?"

Beckett turned to look at Castle.

"Yeah I'm fine Castle."

"So am I Castle, thanks for asking."

Castle leaned forward and looked at the ME.

"Are you ok, Lanie?"

"Like I said, I'm fine." The ME wasn't in the best of moods.

"I think my leg is broken."

"Blame Bob the idiot wouldn't slow down."

"I'm all tangled up."

The gang looked at each other. Even though they were fine, had people on the ground been hurt? Scrambling out of the sleigh they ran towards the front to survey the damage. What they saw shocked them. Beckett looked at her friends then back at the scene before her. Castle jumped up and down on the spot and clapped his hands.

"The reindeer talk!" He watched as one struggled to get up and he ran over to help. "Can I give you a hand?" He extended his hand to the reindeer only for it to be shaken off.

"I don't have hands, you idiot."

"Whoa."

Castle turned to see Ryan and Esposito fist bump.

"Dude, you got taken down by a reindeer."

Beckett watched as ten elves dressed in green and red came running over to help the reindeer.

"We got it, thanks. And just ignore Bob,"

"I've got to check in with my wife," Santa told them. "But I'll get Clarence to show you to the reindeer stables. Jenny, would you like to come inside and meet my wife?"

"Ok, thanks Santa."

Beckett watched as Ryan gave his fiancé a hug. They would only be apart for a few hours tops, yet it was quite a goodbye hug. An elf walked up and introduced himself before shaking their hands and began walking off in what she assumed was the direction of the stables. Santa, elves, talking reindeer-this was getting a bit too much for Beckett. The rest of her team didn't seem too fazed by it, as they followed Clarence to the stables. All of her team except Castle; he seemed to be walking towards the edge of a cliff.

"Castle."

He didn't turn to look at her or even respond, he just simply beckoned her to follow.

"Castle, what you are doing?"

Beckett looked to see exactly where her friends were going before following him. He kept walking towards the cliff. Ok, she knew this guy was a little crazy but was he really going to throw himself off a cliff?

"Castle, stop." The North Pole really was a magical place as Castle listened and stopped. She caught up to him and saw what he had obviously been going to look at.

"I saw it from the sleigh. It's cool, isn't it?"

Down in the valley laid a tiny village. Thousands of brightly coloured roofs were sprinkled with snow like it was glitter.

"I think that's the town centre." Castle pointed to a large area in the middle of the village.

Beckett looked to where he was pointing and smiled. "I think there's an ice rink; there are kids skating."

"There looks like there are stores around the outer edge."

Beckett looked at the peaceful little village in amazement.

"It looks wonderful."

"Yeah, it does."

The pair stood there for a few minutes just taking in what they were seeing.

"Well I guess we better solve this murder; Santa needs to deliver those presents."

Castle nodded and the pair walked off towards the stables. From the outside it looked like any other stable; the inside was a different story. Beckett expected it to be cold and dark with dirt or straw on the ground. She couldn't be more wrong. The place was brightly lit and warm. The floor was covered in a plush carpet that was white and held no stains, except for a bright red one under the little man lying face down on the carpet.

"What do we know so far?" She asked her team who were standing around the body.

"Well, time of death was around a few hours ago approximately 10:30. He was trampled to death." Lanie told them.

"Trampled?" Castle looked at the broken and bloody body on the ground.

"Yeah, by a reindeer."

Castle's eyes widened and he looked towards the wooden doors emblazed with each reindeer's name.

"You mean one of them killed him?"

Lanie shrugged. "One of them or one of what I was told to be about 200 reindeer."

"200. Why does Santa need 200 for?" Kate asked looking around at her team.

"Well we have Santa's 'A Team', then there is the 'B Team'. We also use them for recon. Plan out the routes and transport for us to do research in new products, checking up on kids, that sort of thing."

Beckett turned to the elf that Ryan was talking to who had responded to her question.

"That's Jeff," Esposito informed her. "He is the assistant Reindeer Wrangler; he is also the one who found the body."

The man looked shaken and distressed. Beckett walked over to him and briefly thought about bending down to his height but dismissed it. He was a man, not a child.

"I am sorry for your loss."

The man nodded at her. "Anything I can do to help find John's killer."

"Thank you. We just need to know if you know of anyone."

Castle cleared his throat and Beckett frowned at him but then he placed his hands to his head with the index fingers poking out. He then wiggled them.

"Do you know of any of the reindeer who may have had a disagreement with him? Anyone he may have been a little harder on then the rest?"

The elf shook his head. "No. John was a bit old-fashioned in his ways but everyone loved him. I can't understand why anyone would want to hurt him."

Beckett nodded at him.

"Well, if you think of anything don't hesitate to let us know, ok?"

Beckett turned back to her team. This was going to be an unusual case. What if they couldn't solve this murder?

"Ok, I guess we should interview the reindeer."

"Oh! Oh!"

Beckett turned to Castle who had his hand raised in the air and was hopping up and down like a little boy who needed to pee.

"Yes, Castle."

"Can we interview Rudolf, pleeease?"

Beckett rolled her eyes and looked over at Ryan and Esposito who merely shrugged at her.

"Sure, we will start down this end with Blitzen."

Castle clapped his hands with glee.

"Castle this is a murder investigation, remember."

Castle ran twinkle fingers down his face a technique he no doubt learned from his actress mother, before putting on a straight face.

"Right, murder, got it."


	3. Chapter 3

The Magic Of Christmas

By

Natalie Elizabeth

The pair walked down the corridor past the stalls of all the reindeer. When they got to the end they saw an elf sitting on a chair, seemingly guarding the prized reindeer. He saw them approach and immediately stood on his chair and stuck out a hand to greet them.

"Hello, I am Brian."

Beckett took his hand and shook it.

"Hi I am Detective Kate Beckett and this..."

"Oh, I know who you are," he said still shaking her hand with glee. "It's such an honour to meet you. Who'd have thought I'd get to meet Kate Beckett, a person who has made it in the top ten list for the past six years. It really is an honour."

Beckett extracted her hand from his.

"Top ten list?" she asked, confused. What was he talking about?

"Yes, you have made in onto the top ten nice list for the past six years; that's almost a record."

"There's a top ten list?" Castle asked incredulously.

The elf shrugged.

"Well unofficially, yes. Santa doesn't really like us doing it; as long as they are on the nice list that's good enough for him."

"I'm Richard Castle." He extended his hand to the man. "How many times have I made it into the top ten list?"

The elf shook his hand but raised his eyebrow at him, obviously unimpressed with the writer.

"Well, I am only in charge of the naughty and nice list for B's. My wife Clarissa however is in charge of C's."

It was Castle's turn to raise his eyebrows. Wife!

"Our desks are right next to each other," the elf informed them. "You work next to each other for a hundred years eventually something was going to happen, right?"

Castle slid his eyes to Beckett who was trying to avoid his gaze.

"Anyway, Mr. Castle, my wife talks about you all the time."

This news delighted Castle.

"Really."

The elf crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, she says you're a yo-yo. You keep going from the naughty list to the nice list. She says the nice things you do put you high up on the nice list but she thinks the only reason you do it is because you feel guilty for the naughty things."

Beckett scoffed then quickly covered her mouth. Castle frowned at Beckett before turning back to the elf.

"If you are in charge of the naughty and nice list, why are you here?"

"Over-time. The wife and I are trying to save for our own place. We are renting at the moment and our landlord goes nuts if we want to put a nail in the wall to put a picture up. Santa was worried someone may have been after Rudolf so he has ordered around the clock security."

Beckett nodded. "That's smart, until we find out what happened to John. Can we talk to Rudolf at all?"

Brian nodded. "Sure, but just letting you know-his room is sound proof and the only way to get in and out is by this pin pad. If Rudolf wants to get out for any reason he has to use his intercom."

The pair watched as Brian typed in the pin code while covering the keys from their view. The stall opened and the pair walked into the lavishly decked out stall. The place was huge with a big screen TV on the wall and a sound system in the corner. On the couch against the wall the reindeer relaxed watching the screen.

"Hi Rudolf, I'm Detective Kate Beckett. Sorry to disturb you."

"No problem. Please sit down." The reindeer indicated the two bean bags looking seats on the floor.

Beckett looked warily at the seats but didn't want to offend her favourite reindeer. Her arms flailed as she sunk into bean bag and almost fell out of it.

"Sorry. I usually don't have people over."

Beckett righted herself and smiled at him.

"That's fine. We just have a few questions about what happened to your Reindeer Wrangler, John."

"Sure, go ahead."

Beckett pulled her note book out of her pocket that Santa must have magically put there when he had dressed her.

"Where were you last night at 10:30?"

"I was in here. You can check the log."

Beckett nodded.

"And did you hear anything unusual last night?"

Rudolf shook his head. "No, my room is sound proof. I'm not a good sleeper and even the smallest of sounds wakes me so a few years ago Santa soundproofed my room. I need to be at my best, you know."

Well, that lined up with what Brian had said.

"Do you know of any..." she glanced at Castle, "any reindeers who may have had any issues or problems with John?"

Rudolf shook his head. "No. John was well liked. He was tough but he has to be. The world is getting more populated; we have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time."

Beckett nodded. Well not much else they could ask. She looked at Castle and shrugged to indicate she was done. Leaning forwards she tried to get out of her bean bag but failed miserably.

"Just one question."

Beckett sighed and slumped in her beanbag. Of course he had a question, he always did.

"Why does your nose glow?"

Beckett's eyes widened.

"Castle, you can't ask that."

Rudolf shook his hoof at them.

"It's fine, really." He brought his hoof to his eyes than shook his head. "Do your parents ever do anything to embarrass you?"

Castle nodded. "All the time."

"Well, my mother isn't the brightest spark. No pun intended. When she was pregnant with me she got these cravings for candy. She would eat anything. Anyway one day she was going for a stroll and came across this container with what she thought was red candy. She gorged herself on it and then got so sick that she almost died and me along with her. Eventually she got better and at the time the doctor thought there were no ill effects until I was born with this". He then raised his hoof to his nose. "Turns out the candy wasn't candy; it was this new glow in the dark plastic they were trying to make toys out of. Apparently the red freaked the kids out. They thought it was a demon in the dark so they were throwing the plastic out when my mum ate it. And as they say the rest is history."

"Wow," Castle looked at Beckett with his mouth gaping open.

Beckett raised her eyebrows at the tale.

"Well, it was nice of you to share that with us." Beckett struggled to get out of her seat again while Castle easily climbed out of it. He extended a hand to her and she reluctantly took it and allowed him to pull her out. Castle had used a bit more strength than necessary and the force brought Beckett slamming into him. He placed his hands on her waist to steady her and they stood there staring at each other.

"There is one thing."

Beckett and Castle sprang apart. For a few seconds they had forgotten the reindeer was there.

"What is it?" Beckett asked trying to regain her composure. Castle's hands on her hips hadn't affected her. Much.

"There is a rumour amongst the reindeers that Comet is juicing."

"Juicing." Castle was shocked. Was he serious?

"Yeah. I mean it's just a rumour and it's not illegal or anything but John was old-fashioned. I mean, it might be nothing."

"No," Beckett told him. "Anything, no matter how seemingly insignificant, may help us solve this crime, so thank you. If you think of anything else don't hesitate to let us know."

Beckett and Castle left Rudolf to relaxing watching TV.

"Excuse me, Miss Beckett."

"Yes, Brian?"

"Your medical examiner friend said to let you know she has taken the body to the morgue. Also, the two other detectives have gone to the hospital."

"What, why are they ok, what happened?" Beckett was worried about her team. Sure this was the North Pole but a murder had occurred here. Not even the North Pole was immune to the nastiness of the world.

"Oh yes, they are fine. Blitzen ended up in hospital last night. I think he had an allergic reaction. He doesn't like hospitals so Donner went with him. The two other detectives went there to interview them."

Ok her team was fine; they were investigating the murder.

"Well thank you for letting us know. Castle and I are going to continue to interview the other reindeers. If they come back before we are done could you let them know to wait for us to finish?"

"Sure, anything for you, Miss. Beckett."

As Beckett and Castle walked off Castle leaned in close to Beckett.

"Someone's got a crush on you."

Beckett tried not to laugh at his singsong voice. Instead she leaned over and slapped him lightly.

"Shush. It's not too late for you to get on Santa's naughty list you know."

Castle wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"I hope it's not too late to get on yours."

Beckett's mouth opened wide before she pushed him towards Dasher's stall.


	4. Chapter 4

The Magic Of Christmas

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Interviewing Dasher hadn't rendered any new information. He didn't know of anyone, or rather any reindeer who had a grudge against John the Reindeer Wrangler. Hadn't heard anything either and his alibi for the time of the murder was Dancer the reindeer who lived in the next stall. The pair had bought a book on Morse code on eBay. Since then the pair had been using their hoofs to tap out messages to each other as a game. As they approached the next reindeer's stall Beckett stopped and knocked before gesturing for Castle to go first. He looked at her reluctantly. The last time he had gone first he had ended up with a face full of tiger. He looked at the stall door with the letters Dancer emblazed across it in gold. Taking hold of the handle, he pulled the door open took two steps in and froze. He shouldn't have gone first.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry." Castle spun around and covered his face with his hands.

Beckett looked at the writer. Not much had shocked him today. What was so awful that had to turn around?

"Castle what is it, another body?"

Castle splayed his fingers and looked at her through them.

"She is using the little girls' room."

"I'm stretching," a voice behind him called out.

Beckett looked over his shoulder then pushed him lightly out of the way.

"Castle, she not only is called Dancer, she is a dancer."

Castle lowered his hands and then turned around slowly. The reindeer still had her leg up but now he noticed it was on a bar that was attached to a mirror.

"I dance to relax and I need to be limber to dance or I'll pull something and that won't be good, especially this close to Christmas. So you have questions for me."

Beckett watched as the reindeer lowered her right leg and then put her back one up to stretch it, too.

"Umm, yeah. Where were you between 10 and 11 last night?"

"Here, playing a Morse code game with Dasher through the wall."

Beckett looked at Castle. Her alibi lined up with what Dasher had said. Although they could have just made that story up to be each other's alibi but as yet they had no motive so she would move on.

"Did you know of any of the reindeer who may have had a problem with John?"

The reindeer lowered her leg and shook her head.

"No, that's just it. John was great; he had been in the job for the last five years and he has been instrumental in us doing our run faster than ever before. He works us hard but it has been worth it."

Works hard had been a common denominator. Maybe he worked one of them too hard and they blew.

"Did you hear anything unusual last night?" Now that Dancer had put her leg down Castle could finally look at the female reindeer.

"Nothing unusual per say but I did hear Vixen leave at about 9:30ish."

"Vixen?"

Dancer nodded. "The reindeer that lives next door."

Castle looked towards the next stall as if he could see through it.

"Isn't that Prancer's stall?"

Dancer shrugged and Castle wondered how that was even possible.

"It used to be but they switched about two months ago. It's really busy leading up to Christmas so they haven't repainted the door. Vixen is going through the change of life, if you know what I mean, and Prancer's stall has a bit of a draft. John was going to get it fixed for him but when Vixen heard about the cool breeze she offered to switch."

Castle shook his head.

"I'm sorry, change of life?"

Castle's eyes widened as Dancer rolled her eyes at him. Was this for real? Had a reindeer really rolled her eyes at him? Beckett smiled. She was really getting to like these reindeers.

"You know Menopause, or Womanopause as I like to call it," the reindeer said, straightening and standing up tall. Proud to be a woman and doing her bit to be equal.

Beckett smiled. Oh yes, definitely liking them.

"So she left around 9:30? Do you know when she got back?"

"Umm, I think around 10ish; it wasn't very long."

"Well, thanks for your help."

Castle and Beckett walked out of Dancer's stall and stopped to go over the evidence.

"So what do we know so far?" Beckett asked Castle, even though she had her notebook with little notations written down.

Castle held out his thumb. "John worked them hard yet he was well liked, which I find hard to believe." He held out his index finger. "Comet may be juicing." He then held out his third finger. "Vixen went out last night but was back before the murder occurred."

Beckett nodded. "Not a lot. I guess we keep interviewing reindeers and wait and see if Lanie comes up with anything, or the guys."

Castle knocked on the stall that said Prancer but they knew belonged to Vixen. This time he allowed Beckett to enter before him. There was one advantage of her going first-he got to check out her rear end. Sure it was covered with her red coat but it was still tantalising to look at.

"Vixen, hi. I am Detective Kate Beckett we have a few questions for you."

Beckett stumbled as the reindeer practically pushed her aside with her antlers.

"Hi, you're Richard Castle right? It's such an honour to meet you."

Beckett was rather annoyed as the reindeer batted what had to be fake long lashes at her partner.

"You have heard of me."

Vixen threw her head back and laughed. "Of course I have heard of you! I have read so many of your books. One year there was a mix up and an elf accidently added an extra zero to the order of your books. Santa gave us all one for Christmas. I have been a fan ever since. Will you sign one?"

Beckett looked and saw the reindeer had a bookcase in her stall. There were numerous books by Castle on the shelf, along with quite a few romances that Beckett herself had, too. Castle walked over to the shelf and picked up one of his books, then pated his clothing trying to find a pen. Beckett reluctantly handed hers over to him.

"Can we ask you a few questions?" Beckett wanted to stop the reindeer fawning over Castle, no pun intended.

The reindeer looked over at her as if just realising she was there.

"Sure."

"Where were you last night between 9 and 12 last night?" She extended the hours to give the reindeer a chance to come clean about where she was.

"Well, for the most part I was here but I did step out for a bit."

Castle put the book he was signing down.

"Whom were you meeting?"

Beckett looked at Castle. She had been about to ask where she had gone, not if she was meeting someone. What made him think she was meeting someone? Did he have a theory he hadn't just shared with her?

"I was meeting Cupid."

Beckett looked back at Vixen. Ok, so she shouldn't be so shocked that Castle was right.

"Why were you meeting Cupid?"

Beckett shook her head. Castle knew she was meeting someone but he didn't get why a reindeer called Vixen was meeting someone.

"I was meeting Cupid to see if he could put in a good word for me with Comet."

Beckett frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"Aren't you with Prancer?" That's how the song went, Castle surmised. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, although he didn't want to think about the other four reindeers pairing.

Vixen laughed. "Are you kidding me? Prancer is gay."

Castle's eyes bulged he looked at Beckett who was wearing the same shocked look.

"What?" the pair asked simultaneously.

"Prancer is gay. You know, kicks for the other side."

Beckett regained her composure first.

"So you were meeting Cupid. For how long?"

"Not long. He said he would put in a good word for me and that was it. It was nice and chilly outside so I stayed out there for a bit, went for a bit of a walk."

"Did you notice anything unusual while you were out there, anyone hanging around?"

Beckett smiled. Castle had picked up a lot of things in the years that he had been working with her. He knew the questions she was going to ask even before she was going to ask them.

"Now that you mention it, I did see Bob out there."

"Bob?" Castle asked.

"The reindeer that took you down a peg," Beckett offered. "So you saw Bob; is that normal for him to be out there?"

Vixen tilted her head side to side. "Bob isn't normal. He really wants to get onto the 'A team'; he is always training. I figured he was out there running."

After asking the same basic questions they had asked the other reindeer they left Vixen's stall and went to interview Prancer. The reindeer hadn't heard them knocking as he had his Ipod in, as he did most nights. He couldn't confirm or deny Vixen leaving and hadn't heard anything. So they went on to interview the next reindeer.


	5. Chapter 5

The Magic Of Christmas

By

Natalie Elizabeth

"Hey, Beckett."

Castle and Beckett turned to see Ryan and Esposito walking towards them.

"Hey, so what did you find out at the hospital?"

"Blitzen ate some chocolate his son gave him. He didn't read the label and it had peanuts in it, which he is allergic to."

"He swelled up like the Michelin man," Ryan told them.

"Anyway," Esposito cut back in. "He has to stay in hospital for six hours for observation in case he has a relapse. He hates hospitals so Donner went with him. He ate the chocolate at 8:30; Donner took him over to the hospital around 9:00. What did you guys find out?"

"Reindeers can be menopausal and gay," Castle informed them.

"At the same time?" Ryan asked, shocked.

"Vixen is menopausal. Prancer is gay. Dasher and Dancer are each other's alibi, but Dancer heard Vixen leaving. She apparently met up with Cupid, which we need to verify. Prancer has no alibi; he was on his Ipod all night. There is also a rumour that Comet is juicing."

The two detectives started at her. Was she kidding?

"Castle and I will go and talk to Comet if you two check in with Cupid. Vixen said she was meeting him to talk about setting her up with Comet at about 9:00."

The pair nodded and walked off.

Beckett knocked on Comet's stall before walking in. The reindeer was stretched out on a long green pillow. His eyes were closed but opened once they made their presence known.

"Hi, sorry." The reindeer made an attempt to get up.

"No, no, don't get up on our account; we understand it's late."

Beckett watched as the reindeer gave a sigh of relief before lying back down.

"Sorry, I've been quite tired lately."

"Really, cause the rumour is your juicing."

"Castle!" She couldn't believe he just blurted it out like that.

"It's ok, it's the truth. I was juicing."

Beckett frowned. The idea of a reindeer juicing just didn't sit well with her.

"So you were taking steroids. Where did you get them?" Maybe his dealer got angry and John got in the middle of it.

"Steroids? What? No! Juicing. Its wild berry juice mixed with sugar syrup. It gives you a sugar rush. Makes you feel all energised. I got sick a few months ago and it's taking me a bit longer to recover. I'm not getting any younger. I am no longer in my prime and I was worried Bob was going to take my place on the team."

"Bob." this wasn't the first time the rude reindeer had been mentioned. A fact that both the writer and the detective were both realising.

"Yeah, Bob has been giving me grief lately. Telling me he is taking my spot, that I am not as fast as my name suggests. So I started juicing. The only problem is it only works for a little while and then it drains me."

"So let me guess-John found out so you killed him." Beckett hated being hard with one of Santa's reindeers but if he was a murderer than he was still a murderer.

"What? No, no! I didn't kill John. Yes, he did find out but he was ok about it. Well, not ok but he got me to stop and put me on some new vitamins that will help me recover. He was real nice about it; he was more concerned about why I thought I needed to juice. When I told him about Bob he reassured me that Bob will never make it onto his 'A team'. The only reason he even keeps him on the 'B team' is because of the father-son rule."

"What rule?" Castle wanted to know. It must be a pretty big rule to keep such an arrogant reindeer on the back up team.

"If your mother or father is on the 'A team' then all you have to do is pass the speed test to get on the 'B team'. Everyone else had to go through months and months of training and tests."

Beckett frowned. "I'm confused. Who is Bob's father?"

"Blitzen."

Castle and Beckett looked at each other than back at Comet.

"Thank you for your help."

The pair ran from the room but then Castle ran back in.

"By the way, you may be out of your prime but I know of a certain female reindeer who is into you." He then ran out and joined Beckett.

"Bob is Blitzen's son," Castle told Beckett.

"And his son is the one who gave him the chocolate," she counteracted.

"And as his son he should know his father is allergic to peanuts," Castle fired back.

"Which means he probably gave the chocolate to his father knowing he would end up in the hospital and that way the two closest stalls to where John was found would be empty and no one would hear them talk."

"Hey guys, Cupid verified Vixen's story they met outside and he mentioned seeing that reindeer that shot you down, Castle," Esposito told the pair while flicking through his note book.

"Bob's our killer," Castle and Beckett said in unison.

The pair started to walk out of the stables.

"Where are you going?" Ryan asked, chasing after them.

"To tell Santa!" Castle yelled not slackening his pace.

"To see Lanie to get some evidence to back up our theory."

The three detectives and the writer ran the short distance to Santa's house. It was really cold out there.

When they got there Beckett knocked on the door.

"I'll go see Lanie," Esposito told them walking off.

Ryan, Beckett and Castle looked at each other. Was that really a good idea? Things were already pretty

strained between the two.

"Ah detectives, I was just coming to see you."

"We think we know who killed John."

"Bob," Castle said almost proudly.

"We need to get some evidence from Lanie to be sure, or get Bob to admit to it," Beckett told Santa.

"Javi just back off!"

Beckett looked to where she had heard her best friend's voice.

"I just want to talk, Lanie."

Lanie stopped and placed her hands on her hip. "Yeah, well I don't." Lanie then strode off in the opposite direction.

"Maybe I should talk to him." Ryan felt bad for his partner.

"What's that noise?" Castle asked, looking around.

Beckett frowned and looked around also. "And that rumbling?"

"Stampede!" Santa yelled.

Beckett watched in horror as a reindeer ran past them and headed straight for Lanie. A few seconds later a herd of them followed.

"Lanie!" Beckett screamed.

Esposito turned at Beckett's scream and saw the reindeer heading straight for them. He ran as quick as he could towards Lanie, tackled her to the ground and rolled them just as the herd raced past.

Beckett screamed and turned her head to hide in Castle's shoulder. She didn't want to see her friend's destruction. When the rumbling stopped and the snow settled Beckett pulled away from Castle to look at her friends lying on the ground. She made an attempt to run to her friends but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"What?" She turned to look at Castle but he had his finger to her lips, telling her to shush.

Beckett turned back to look at her friends and realised they were alive and well. The pair hadn't moved from their spot in the tree line and lay there staring at each other. Lanie stared up at Esposito from the cold ground but she didn't feel it. All she felt was the heavy breathing of the man above her.

"Javi. You saved me."

"You sound shocked."

"I just didn't think you cared about me."

Esposito was shocked. How could she think that?

"Not care about you? Lanie I love you."

"You love me? But you said you didn't want to get married."

Esposito brushed back a strand of Lanie's hair.

"I don' want to get married right now, but some day maybe. I'm scared Lanie. Scared I'll do something to screw it up and I already have because I have lost you."

Lanie started to tremble. Not because she was cold; she was in fact very hot right now.

"Do you really love me?"

"Of course."

"Then you haven't lost me."

Esposito stared at her for two seconds before he crushed his lips to hers.

"Whoa yeah, go Esplanie!"

Beckett leaned over and wacked Castle across the chest.

"What?" he asked, looking all innocent.

"So it's not ok for me to go and check if my friends are ok, but you can interrupt their makeup kiss?"

"Hey, guys. What's going on?"

Ryan turned around to see his future wife and Mrs. Claus standing in the doorway.

"Sweetie!" Ryan went and hugged Jenny. He had almost seen his best friends killed; he needed her in his arms. "There was a stamped."

"Oh my gosh, is everyone ok?"

Ryan extracted himself out of her arms. He turned to see Lanie and Esposito walking back towards them with their arms wrapped around each other.

"Yeah, everything is fine."

"Hey look!" Castle pointed to the herd of reindeer that were now returning at more peaceful pace. Although they hadn't realised it at the time of the stamped, several of the reindeers were carrying elves. As the herd got closer the team realised that the lead elf was in fact Brian, the elf in charge of the B naughty and ncie list. He held a lasso of red liquorice in his hand with the other end attached to a reindeer that was being dragged behind. "Is he dead?"

The herd of reindeer stopped and Brian jumped off and held the liquorice rope out to Santa.

"No, he isn't dead. I just tranquilised him with a peppermint candy cane. He is out cold."

"Brian, what s gotten into you?"

Castle was surprised. Santa was actually angry.

Brian stepped back and held his head down in shame.

"I am sorry, Santa."

"You're sorry. You put the lives of people who came here to help us in danger."

"I know I did. Santa, what I did was inexcusable. It's just John is my wife's second cousin. I wanted to make sure justice was served. I was scared Bob would run and he did. I am so sorry for going rogue; I am no better than Mr. Castle."

"Hey!" Castle held his hands out and looked around. How did he get involved in this?

Santa looked between Castle and the rouge elf and sighed.

"One thing I have learned from watching Mr. Castle over the years is that even though he has done numerous naughty things by going rouge, his heart is always in the right place."

Castle smiled. That must be how he stayed on the nice list then; Santa believed in him.

Santa thrusted the liquorice rope back at Brian.

"Take him to the prison and don't forget to collect your reward."

A grin broke out on the elf's face.

"Oh thank you Santa, thank you so much."

"I trust you have left all the physical evidence in the morgue, Dr. Parish?"

Lanie looked up at Santa, shocked. She had almost forgotten why she was there. She was too busy twisting her fingers around Esposito's.

"Umm, yes."

"Good. We will have a trail after Christmas. Now you elves get all the reindeers back to their stalls and get them tucked into bed; we have a busy day ahead of us."


	6. Chapter 6

The Magic Of Christmas

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Santa looked at the team before him.

"Would you like to come in and have some hot cocoa and gingerbread?"

Castle clapped his hands together. "I love gingerbread."

The rest of the non-juvenile team looked at each other and shrugged; they were already up and none of them were working the next day. Santa ushered them into his house and guided them into his living room. He urged his wife to sit down.

"I'll go organise everything. Please take a seat. Sorry, we normally don't have human guests."

Beckett looked around the room and saw the small, what was probably a two-seater, for elves and a big chair that matched the one Mrs. Clause was sitting in. She chose to sit on the rug in front of the fire as Ryan and Jenny squeezed onto the two-seater. Esposito sat in Santa's chair and pulled Lanie into his lap, resulting in Lanie letting out a surprised squeal, leaving Castle no other place to sit but on the floor next to her.

"Here we go."

Santa walked into the room carrying a tray with numerous steaming mugs and a plate full of gingerbread. He then handed them around the room.

"Sorry ladies, but even with all my magic I can't make something taste good and be low fat and low sugar."

Beckett laughed as she grabbed a mug and one gingerbread and glared at Castle as he shoved one in his mouth and took two more in his hand. After all the cocoa and gingerbread had been handed out, Santa walked towards his Christmas tree. Castle looked at the tree with a smile, or at least tried to with a mouth full of gingerbread. Who would have thought Santa would have a tree? Would he get presents from all the elves? How would they fit under the tree and where would he put them after he spent three months unwrapping them?

"Ok, now time for presents. Now, I got all your letters and I have checked it over twice and after tonight you are all definitely on the nice list."

"Letter, I never wrote you a letter Santa." Beckett hadn't written a letter to Santa, ever. She had found out Santa wasn't real before she could even write.

"I didn't write a letter."

"Me neither."

"Neither did we."

"I did."

The gang turned to look at Castle.

"What?" Castle brought his mug to his lips and took a big gulp. "If you don't write he won't bring you anything."

"Just so you know Rick, you can't ask for your book to be a best seller. That one year was an accident. If anyone asks for Patterson's book I will give it to them."

Beckett turned to look at Castle. "That's what you ask him for?"

Castle smiled sheepishly.

"I am not talking about a physical letter, anyway. I am magical, remember. I receive letters of the heart from adults. It takes quite a bit to interpret them, kind of like Shakespeare, but I have never had anyone seem unhappy about their gift." Santa grabbed a large square wrapped present out from underneath his tree. "Now, Kevin and Jenny asked for the same gift for Christmas and that was to be with each other."

"Awww." Esposito looked at his partner and shook his head. "You are so whipped."

Ryan just stared back at his partner. "And you're not?"

Jenny took the gift and the pair unwrapped it, revealing a leather bound book.

"It's full of recipes," Jenney announced, flicking through the pages.

"All of Mrs. Claus's Christmas recipes. The trick is you have to make them together. If one tries to make it without the other the recipes will turn out tasting terrible".

Beckett tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. She was in Santa's house after all.

"Now Javier, this gift is for you."

Esposito handed his mug to Lanie and eagerly grabbed his gift.

"You asked for something warm and chocolaty in your bed for Christmas."

Esposito froze while Castle choked on his gingerbread. Lanie smiled at the man she was currently sitting on.

"Warm and chocolaty, huh?"

Esposito looked at Santa warily.

"Go on, open it," Santa urged.

Esposito peeled open the gift and then laughed when he saw his gift.

"It's a blanket." He fanned out his present and covered himself and Lanie with it. Lanie handed him back his mug and snuggled back into Javier like they weren't currently in Santa's house in front of everyone.

"Now Lanie, you asked for something dark to be wrapped around your body in the morning."

Castle choked again. This time Beckett slapped him a few times on the back, a little harder than necessary.

Lanie tore into her gift and pulled out a bathrobe. Beckett watched as Esposito leaned forward and whispered in Lanie's ear. She couldn't hear what was said but judging by Lanie's smile she was betting that neither the blanket nor bathrobe would be required any time in the near future.

"Kate."

Beckett smiled as Santa brought her over a flat, square present.

"Now your request was very vague; just one word so I hope it's the right one."

"I am sure it will be fine." Beckett turned the wrapped present over in her hands.

"What did she asked for?"

Beckett looked at Lanie's smiling face. She sure hoped it wasn't something embarrassing.

"I not only checked this one twice, I checked it five times and I kept getting the same message: Castle!"

Beckett's eyes widened in shock as coughing and spluttering could be heard from everyone in the room apart from Santa and Mrs. Claus, who seemed confused by the outburst. Beckett kept her head down as she tore off the wrapping. The sooner she got this hell over with the better. A castle is exactly what Santa had given her, in the form of a beautiful print. An old gothic style castle covered in snow surrounded by trees looked up at her. She spun the picture around for everyone to see.

"Exactly what I wanted."

Santa seemed pleased with her reaction and retrieved the last present under the tree. He handed it to Castle who finally put down his mug and gingerbread.

"Now I hope I got it for the right system," Santa told Castle.

"What did he ask for?" Esposito hoped it was as revealing as they had all been so far.

Santa smiled. "Well, he wanted to sing I love you from the roof tops."

Castle stopped his action of tearing the wrapping off his gift and looked around at everyone one in the room. Santa and Mrs. Claus were smiling. Ryan and Jenny were smiling, too, but more like Cheshire cats. Whereas Lanie and Esposito had their mouths gaping open like clowns at the fair awaiting ping pong balls to be shoved down their throats. Beckett on the other hand was the only one who wasn't looking at him. In fact, she seemed to be looking everywhere else but at him. Castle decided to open his gift to try and get the focus off what he had asked for and on to what he actually got.

"Oh cool, microphones for my play station this is really great. Thanks, Santa."

A chorus of 'thanks, Santa' rang out, as all were more than happy with their gifts. Jenny let out a yawn then covered her mouth, embarrassed.

"Sorry, I had an early morning."

Santa waved her off. "I am really sorry for disturbing all of your sleep but you understand how important it was to find the murderer. I organised transportation home for you while I was getting the cocoa; it is ready to go when you are."

The gang said their goodbyes to Mrs. Claus before making their way outside. When they got outside they were shocked to see three smaller sleighs with two reindeer each.

"I can't go back with you. Unfortunately, there is too much to do. The reindeer know the way, however, so you will be fine to just sit back and relax."

A round of hugs for Santa and each other was given before the two official couples got into separate sleighs and magically whisked away.

"Thank you so much again." Santa grabbed both their hands and shook them vigorously.

Castle helped Beckett into the sleigh before climbing in after her. He sat on the seat next to their gifts and helped Beckett spread the blanket over the two of them. With a quick wave to Santa the couple relaxed back in their seats as the reindeer took off. Neither of them said anything at first, preferring to look out their side of the sleigh. Eventually, Beckett couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"So are you going to say anything about my gift?"

Castle turned to look at Beckett. She had wanted Castle for Christmas and he was Castle. She wanted him. What was he supposed to say? Yippie. Hooray. How come you can't tell me that?

"Aren't you going to say anything about my gift?" he countered.

Beckett lowered her head.

"You didn't seem surprised by it." When everyone else but her had.

Beckett shook her head.

"So either you have figured out that I love you, or you heard me that day at the cemetery."

Beckett nodded.

"Well which is it, the first or the second?"

Beckett took a deep breath. She couldn't look at him so she kept staring out at the blackness.

"Second."

Castle ran a hand down his face. She had heard him that day. She heard him and she had lied about it.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He couldn't believe after what he did for her and then she had gone and lied straight to his face.

"Why didn't you tell me again if you thought I didn't know?"

Castle opened his mouth to comment, then stopped. Well, at first it was because she ran away and then we she came back... Castle pursed his lips.

"I was scared."

Beckett chose now to look at him. She hadn't expected that.

"So was I."

Castle was shocked. The extraordinary Kate Beckett was scared and he was scared.

"You know when I have to do something scary I find it helps if I have someone's hand to hold. I transfer all my fear to them and they transfer all their fear to me. It meets in the middle and explodes. It makes it not so scary." He pulled his hand out from under the blanket and held it out to her. "I'll help you get through the scary stuff, if you will help me."

Beckett looked at his outstretched hand. He wasn't merely offering to hold her hand through the scary times; he was offering to hold her hand forever. Beckett threw off the blanket that was covering them, much to Castle's shook. She then picked up their presents and deposited them on the floor of the sleigh. She grabbed Castle's arm, yanked it upwards before sliding over and rested her head on his shoulder and then pulling his arm back around her. She laced her fingers with his and sighed with relief. It wouldn't be easy but she would have his help along the way. The pair remained silent for the rest of the trip. Beckett wasn't happy with the speed of the reindeer as they got her back to her apartment way too quickly.

Castle got out of the sleigh and helped her down.

"You know tomorrow, or rather today, is Christmas Eve. Look, I know I already asked and you already said no. However, if you change your mind I'll be having dinner with mother and Alexis at 7:00 and opening presents at midnight. You're more than welcome anytime during the day or night."

Beckett was standing in his arms and stroked her hands up and down his forearms.

"Dad and I are going to the cemetery tomorrow because I am working Christmas day."

Castle nodded. "I know you probably don't feel like celebrating after that but just remember the offer is there. I guess I'll see you Christmas day."

"You don't have to come in."

Castle shrugged. "Alexis is flying out at 8:00 to spend time with Meredith and mother will either be hung over or asleep. If I come in at least I'll get to spend the day with you, even if we do have to investigate a murder."

"I'll think about it." She shivered slightly in the cold. "Well I better go in, it's late." She leaned in and gave him a hug. She pulled back and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. The grin that appeared on her lips was unexpected and wouldn't seem to go away so she decided she better go before she made a fool of herself. She ran all the way to her apartment and placed her gift from Santa on her window sill. She then stripped down eager to get into bed and fall asleep. She couldn't wait to see what the new day would bring.


	7. Chapter 7

The Magic of Christmas

By

Natalie Elizabeth

After a few hours sleep Beckett awoke with a smile on her face. She raised herself up on her hands and looked towards her windowsill to look at her gift from Santa. Only it wasn't there. Beckett looked on the floor but her clothes weren't there, either.

She collapsed back down on her bed. It had been a dream , just a dream. Of course it had been a dream; she had met Santa, after all. Menopausal reindeer who was she kidding? How did she not know it was a dream when it was happening? Reluctantly Beckett pulled herself out of her bed and took a shower. As the day would progress she would eventually lose all memory of her wacky dream and that kind of disappointed her.

Hours later after her Christmas pilgrimage to her mother's grave with her father the pair went to a local cafe for coffee.

"So how have you been Katie?"

Beckett wrapped her hands around her mug. It wasn't her usual gourmet coffee that Castle usually brought her but it didn't matter; she was with her father on Christmas Eve.

"I'm doing good. I've had a few ups and downs but I guess the fact that I am admitting I am not fine is a good thing, right?"

Her dad smiled at her and she took that as a good sign.

"So how's Ricky doing?"

Beckett looked at him, surprised.

"Ricky. What, like you guys are friends now or something?"

Her father laughed. He laughed. Maybe this was a dream. It had been for ever since she had seen him smile, let alone laugh.

"Well, when the guy calls you once a week, you kind of become friends."

Beckett looked at her father, shocked.

"I can't believe he's been calling you. How long has this been going on?"

"Since you didn't call him and then ran away."

Beckett sighed she didn't need this now, not today.

"Dad, I had to get away."

He reached across and held her hand. "I know you did, Katie. You're mother's death consumed all your time, all your focus, just like it did mine. I had hoped you getting away would make you realise it's time to find something else to consume your time with."

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Dad."

"Rick."

Beckett looked into her coffee as if it held all the answers.

"I'm scared, Daddy."

He gave her hand a squeeze.

"So is he."

Beckett looked up at her father.

"What?"

"He is scared, too."

That's what Castle had said last night, he was scared; but that was dream Castle, not real Castle.

"How do you know that?"

"I told you, we talk. It started out with how things were going with you. First me telling him when you wouldn't talk to him, then him telling me when you two started working together again. Somehow our chats started moving on to other topics. The weather, sports, our daughters that we love so much and eventually how much of a failure Rick is."

Beckett extracted her hand from her father and inched her chair back from the table.

"Dad, Rick is not a failure. Oh my God, do you not know how successful he is? Even if you have been living in a cave for the last ten years I've been raving about it even before I met him. How could you say something like that?"

Ok something definitely wrong. Her dad was now grinning like a fool.

"It's nice to see you defending him."

"Well of course I am going to defend him when you say things that are totally wrong!"

"I didn't say it; he did."

"What?"

"Rick. All his success in his career means nothing because he feels like a failure in his personal life. He feels like he has failed Alexis because he couldn't provide her with a decent mother the first or second time around. He has failed as a husband, failed at most relationships he has been in. He feels that the only women who could ever really love him are related to him."

Beckett was shocked. Castle came across as cocky and confidant yet he had opened up to her father about his fears. His fears which were not true.

"Anyway I better be going. I've got a plane to catch."

Hold on a second, what?

"You're going somewhere?"

"Didn't I tell you? You know the guy next door with all the cars, the neighbour I hate? Well, it turns out the new neighbours hate him, too. I met Tom and Anna when Tom was having an argument because one of the cars is parked on the road and it's hard for him to get out of his own driveway. Anyway, we got to talking and they are really nice people. They asked me to going skiing with them and Anna's sister."

Beckett raised her eyebrows at that. Anna's sister.

"I know what you're thinking dear daughter and it's only half true. She lost her husband a year ago and hasn't been dealing with it well. Since I am the king of how to deal with death the wrong way, they thought I might be able to talk to her."

"Right, talk."

Jim got up and kissed his daughter on the cheek.

"Whatever the reason for me being there, it should be fun. Nice to spend Christmas with people instead of being on my own. Merry Christmas."

Beckett sat there for a moment on her own. Her father was going to be spending Christmas with his neighbour and the man's sister. A family. While she was going to be on her own. Well, technically she was going to be at work on Christmas day so she wouldn't be on her own, especially if Castle came in. Yet she would be on her own tonight. The childhood Christmas poem came to mind.

_**Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,**_

_**Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.**_

A mouse wouldn't be stirring in her apartment, just a scared lonely woman who didn't need to be alone. She had an invite to Castles loft. It hadn't just been from her dream, he had invited her. She could go, spend time with his family, a family, and remember what Christmas was all about.

Beckett left the cafe and made her way back to her apartment. If she did go, she couldn't turn up with nothing. Yes she had gifts for all of them; she had been planning on giving them to Castle whenever he came back to work. Yet she still needed to bring something food wise, it would be impolite not to. She had no idea what they were having for dinner so it would be best if she brought something for dessert. The city was already hectic as it was so as she had already reached her apartment she decided that if she did bring something she would make it. That was of course if she was going to go at all. If she had the ingredients in her home to make some sort of dessert, she would go.

She strode towards her cupboards and threw them open. Ok so she had both types of flour. After Lanie's break up with Esposito she had come around and they had deep fried a variety of vegetables in batter. Her theory had been its vegetables so it's healthy. The broccoli was actually quite good. There was also baking soda, again Lanie. She told her to put plates of it around her home to absorb smells. It was a start, at least.

She knew she had some milk and butter in her fridge and at least one egg, so she could make some sort of cake, maybe. Beckett dug through the back of her cupboards looking for some kind of flavouring. She spotted a few spice jars and pulled them out. Moroccan seasoning, Lanie. Cinnamon. Ok, how had that got there? But it held possibilities.

The last jar she pulled out made her smile. Ginger! Ground ginger. She wouldn't make cake, she would make bread. Gingerbread!

She climbed on top of her counter to get access to a box of things she thought she would never use. Her mother's recipes. She pulled the box down and coughed at the dust that came off it. She jumped down in a slightly dangerous move and looked at the contents in the box. Her father had given her her mother's recipes along with some cookie cutters and serving plates her mother used. There was also a Secret Santa gift she had been given last year. She smiled at the almost fate of it. The gift still had the wrapping on one end as she had put it back on when she realised she would probably never use it. Until now.

Beckett pulled off the wrapping and couldn't help but laugh. Castle would love these! Ninja bread men. Three gingerbread man shaped cutters posing Ninja style. Beckett bit her lip. She had all the ingredients and that had been her deal. If she had the ingredients to make some sort of dessert she would go. It still didn't bode well with her. She couldn't just turn up. Beckett pulled her phone out of her black coat she still wore and called Castle.

"No, no no, no, no. Please don't take my Dad away," came a frantic female voice.

"Alexis, is everything ok?"

"Depends. You're not going to take my dad away on Christmas Eve to go on a case, are you? I know solving murder is far more important than a Christmas Eve party but it's my last night with my Dad until I spend a week with my mum."

"No, No, Alexis, no case. We are not working today."

"Oh well that's good, then. Merry Christmas Eve, Kate."

"Thanks, Alexis."

"So why did you call my Dad? Hopefully to cheer him up. He has been in a bad mood since he got up, said he had some weird dream."

Weird dream. She wondered about what?

"Ahh well, maybe it might cheer him up. He asked me to spend Christmas Eve with you guys, I was calling to see if it was still ok for me to come. I originally told him no but he said if I changed my mind I could just turn up."

"You're coming? That's great."

Beckett wasn't so sure about it now, especially if Alexis was looking forward to spending her last day with her father.

"Are you sure? You said you wanted to spend your last day with your Dad."

"Well yeah, but if you're here Dad will be happy and I want him to be happy. As long as he is here that's good enough for me. I'd love for you to come to dinner Kate. Please, please say you will come."

She didn't have to spend Christmas Eve alone. There were people who wanted to spend time with her. People who cared.

"If you're sure."

"Of course. Do you want me to send a car for you?"

"No, no, it's fine."

"Can I surprise Dad and not tell him you're coming?"

Beckett laughed. The daughter was so much like the father.

"Ok sure, I'll see you at 7:00, ok?"

Beckett quickly got to work whipping up a double batch of gingerbread man. She cleaned up the dishes while the gingerbread dough set slightly in the fridge and then showered while she waited for the men to cool so she could ice them.

She had dressed in sweats after her shower so she wouldn't dirty her clothes but now she stood in front of her wardrobe trying to figure out what to wear. Her red coat stood out like a beacon. She had worn it in her dream, which she still remembered, so she grabbed it and threw it on her bed. It was just dinner at Castles but it was still Christmas Eve. Were jeans to casual? Her dark blue jeans were very tight and she was pretty sure she had caught Castle checking out her butt. Jeans were a go, now for a top. She went to grab a black long sleeve black top but then stopped. Black looked good on her but it was also considered morbid, in a way. It was Christmas; happy, bright, fun. She needed something like that. Beckett looked down to the bottom of her closest and the shopping bag she had left there weeks ago. Grabbing the bag and upturning on her bed a light gold piece of clothing fell out. Perfect. She quickly changed into her outfit, put on her expensive scarf she only wore on special occasion and walked out of her room. She pulled on her boots and went to gather the Castle family's presents and gingerbread. It was still early but Castle had said anytime so she might as well leave.

After pulling her door closed, Beckett walked out onto the street. When she got there the cold chill in the air hit her bare hands and head. She had left her gloves in her apartment and didn't have beanie. Absently putting her hands in her pocket to keep warm Beckett quickly extracted her right one when she felt something in her pocket. She pulled her coat over to peak in the pocket and recognised the woolen item. It was the hat Castle had given her in her dream. How had it ended up in her pocket? Beckett shook her head and pulled the hat on and made her way to Castle's loft.


	8. Chapter 8

The Magic Of Christmas

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Beckett stood nervously at Castle's door. She had a plate of ninja bread man in one hand, her hand bag on her shoulder and a gift bag in the other. She raised the hand with the gift bag to knock on the door. It was now or never.

"I'll get ittttttttttttttt!" she heard Alexis yell out.

Beckett watched as the door was flung open to reveal a very Christmassy Alexis. She had a Santa hat on her head and was wearing a long sparkly red top with black leggings. The teen's eyes widened when she her.

"Oh my God, you came!"

Beckett then tried to stabilize herself as Alexis launched herself in her arms.

"Merry Christmas Eve."

Beckett laughed. "You, too."

"Come in." Beckett wasn't really given a choice as Alexis grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into their loft. She had been there last week and had seen the decorations Castle had already put up but since then he added more. Any surface that wasn't covered with twinkle lights was covered in cotton wool she assumed to look like snow. There were ornaments and baubles everywhere.

"Grams, ready to see our surprise dinner guest?"

Beckett saw Martha standing in front of their wine collection. There was already five bottles on the counter but she obviously assumed she needed more.

"Just one second, I needed to a bit more wine to handle tonight."

Beckett frowned and looked at Alexis. She assumed the night was meant to be about joy and happiness. Why did Martha need that much alcohol to achieve that?

"She thinks my mother is coming," Alexis informed her.

Beckett's eyes widened. Christmas Eve, with Castle's ex!

"She is not, by the way."

At hearing this announcement Martha turned around confused and then her eyes lit up when she saw her dinner guest.

"Oh darling come here, Merry Christmas Eve."

Beckett put her plate of gingerbread on the counter along with both bags and eagerly entered Martha's arms.

"Merry Christmas Eve."

Martha pulled back and then looked over at her granddaughter.

"Why didn't you tell me it was Kate?"

Alexis shrugged. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, you're father certainty will be surprised," she said. "Richard!" she called out for her son.

"I made ninja bread men and I brought you a few small gifts," Kate said, indicating her pile she had left

on the counter.

"Oh Kate, that wasn't necessary," Martha told her.

"Yes it was, thanks, Kate. Dad loves ginger bread. Look Gram, there little Ninjas." Alexis held up the plate and showed her.

Martha shook her head. "Your father will love it. Richard!" she yelled again.

Alexis took the gifts and placed them under the tree that was already pretty full of presents.

"Alright, I'm here."

Beckett turned around at the sound of Castle's voice. He was dressed in a rich red shirt and looked incredibly handsome. He raked a hand through his hair and then really looked at the person standing next to his mother. His eyes bulged and his mouth gaped open.

"Beckett."

"Hi Merry Christmas Eve." He stood there shocked so Beckett approached him. She leant in and gave him half a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. He still looked shocked when she backed away.

"You're here."

"I am."

"You found the hat."

Beckett raised her hand to her head and pulled the hat off her head.

"It was in my jacket pocket." Had he lost it?

"Oh I know, I put it there. I noticed you were going to crime scenes without one and I was worried you would get sick. I can't believe you're here. I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Alexis chose that moment to run past and pinch him. Castle rubbed his arm, his face contorting in fake pain.

"Just one second," he told her before dashing after his daughter.

Beckett sat on the couch in Castle's loft contemplating her night. Alexis, with minimal help from her father, had put on a spectacular dinner. She was so glad that Alexis had challenged her to a dance off on their Wii game system two hours after they had eaten dinner. If not, there was a good chance she would have lost her button on her jeans when she sat down. According to the clock in Castles house, it was midnight, although her own watch said 11:45. Beckett couldn't figure out which Castle had changed the time, little one, or big one. Both seemed excited about receiving gifts. Big Castle sat down next to her on the couch.

"Have you had enough?"

Beckett smiled. "It's been great. Thank you for inviting me."

Castle patted her knee. "Thank you for coming."

"Ok, present time."

Alexis ran to the tree and started removing gifts and handing them to the owners. Beckett was surprised when three small gifts were placed in front of her. She noticed that only a few gifts were placed in front of everyone; the rest remained under the tree.

"We only open gifts from family and friends on Christmas Eve," Castle informed her. "The rest are from people trying to get in my good books, companies, that sort of thing. Open my gifts first," he told the three women in the room as he picked up his camera.

Beckett picked up the small square shaped gift and held on to it as she watched Alexis open her gift. When the girl saw what her gift was she let out a squeal. She watched as Alexis held up a collection of books and then put on a cheesy smile for the camera.

"There by my favourite author; these will be great for when mum ditches me."

Beckett's gaze slid to Castle and saw him frowning at his daughter. Alexis was oblivious to her father's stare for a few seconds before she realised what she had just said.

"Second favourite author."

"That's more like it." He then snapped his camera in his daughter's face, unrespectablely creating a very funny shot.

"Thank you, Richard."

Beckett glanced at Martha who was waving an envelope.

"Spa treatments."

Castle snapped another picture before all eyes turned on her. She had yet to open her gift. Peeling off the tape she carefully unwrapped her gift to reveal a jewelry box. Beckett took in a deep breath; it could be anything. She opened the box and started at the contents.

"Do you like it?"

Beckett looked at Castle.

"It's beautiful," she told him. "Will you help me put it on?"

Castle leaned over and took the silver bracelet out of the box. Beckett held out her wrist and waited for him to put it on her.

"Dad, what charm is that on the bracelet?"

"It's a reindeer."

Beckett pulled her hand back. "What?"

"A reindeer. I wanted to get you something Christmassy. The Santa charm just looked creepy and the Christmas tree looked like an arrow. So I chose a reindeer. I thought this Christmas might not be as bad as some and you might like to remember it."

Beckett looked at the charm. Oh, she would definitely be remembering this Christmas.

"Thank you." She leaned over and kissed him again on the cheek.

Castle simply grinned at her.

Martha's presents were the ones to be opened next. Beckett was surprised to see she had received tickets to a sold out show.

"Thank you Martha, I really wanted to see it."

"Hey, I tried to get tickets, how did you get them?" Castle complained.

Martha smiled at him.

"I have connections too, darling."

Beckett stared at the two tickets. "So, will you be joining me?"

Martha waved Beckett off. "Oh no, take someone special; make a night of it." She then sent Beckett a wink. Beckett bit her lip and slid a glance to Castle, who seemed oblivious to the exchange.

"My gift next," she announced.

Castle looked at his long triangle shaped gift.

"What do you think Alexis, Toblerone?"

Castle wacked his gift lightly on his knee, while Alexis rolled her eyes at him. Alexis tore into her gift and screamed in delight when she saw what she had received.

"Gram, look what Kate got me."

Alexis held up a brightly coloured scarf and then looked over at her gram who was holding up a similar item.

"Kate, this is gorgeous," Martha told her.

"Is it from the same places as the one you were wearing earlier" Alexis asked, wrapping the scarf around her neck.

"Yeah, it's from a little boutique; this woman hand paints them."

"I feel fabulous," Alexis said with flair. "Dad, are you going to open your gift?"

Castle snapped off a few pictures of his mother and daughter before picking up his gift again. He ripped off the paper and then stared at the shiny surface of his gift. It wasn't the reaction Beckett expected until she realised he had it the wrong way around. He spun the item around until black letters appeared on the gold surface.

_**Richard Castle**_

Police consultant

"Oh this is awesome." He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I can't wait for the guys to see this."

"Well, unless they get arrested for murder they won't be able to see that, Castle."

Castle was confused.

"That goes on your desk at work, or rather my desk, our desk."

Castles eyebrows rose. "Our desk?"

"Gates is warming up to you, a little. If she has to have you around she wants it all official. You are now officially a police consultant; you get an official ID and everything."

"Cool."

"But don't think it's a get out of jail free card. You get arrested and they will call me first. It will save your family on bail money, at least. Now, I tried to get you your own desk but there really isn't any room close to mine unless we totally shuffle everything around. However, there is room for a slightly bigger desk, so after the New Year we can go looking for a desk that we can both share."

"Seriously?"

Beckett nodded.

"Wow."

Their eyes locked and Beckett forgot to breath.

"Open my presents," Alexis interrupted.

Castle closed his eyes and hung his head down. He couldn't catch a break.

He took his last special gift and opened it. He smiled at the game he had received.

"I've got a week to practice before you get back and then I'll kick your butt," he told his daughter.

"You wish, Dad."

Beckett leaned forward to see what Alexis had gotten him.

"It's one of those singing games for my PS3."

Beckett looked at the cover of the game and froze. 'Love songs.' Alexis had gotten him the love song edition. In her dream Santa had gotten Castle the microphones for his game system so he could sing 'I love you' from the roof tops. It had to be a coincidence, surely. Beckett tried to distract herself from Castle's gift by opening her own. She tore off the paper and opened the lid of the box. All she could see was a glass ball and knew Alexis had gotten her a snow globe. Who didn't love a snow globe? She grabbed it from the top and pulled it out, shaking it before removing her hand from the top of the globe to reveal the scene. Beckett froze as the snowflakes fluttered around the castle inside of the globe. A castle surrounded by trees. The same castle from the picture that Santa had given her in her dream.

How was this possible?

"Where did you get this?"

"I found this little Christmas shop. I swear, the owner looked better than some of the store Santa's."

Beckett turned the snow globe in her hand. How was this possible?

"Don't you like it?"

Beckett looked at the crestfallen Alexis.

"No, no. It's beautiful. I was just shocked, that's all."

"Well I'm off kids; there is a Christmas party waiting for my presence."

"Well, I need to go off to bed, too," Alexis announced.

"I probably should be going, too. I have to work tomorrow," Beckett told them, standing up.

Beckett hugged Alexis and then switched with Castle and hugged Martha. The teen made quick work of gathering her gifts and exiting the room. As did Martha, leaving Beckett and Castle alone. Beckett gathered up her presents and put them into her bag before grabbing her coat and heading towards the door.

"Thank you for sharing your family with me, Castle."

He smiled at her and shrugged.

"Thanks for coming. It made the night feel real special."

Beckett turned to look at the door and then back at Castle. It was time to go, she knew it, but she wasn't quite ready.

"Hey guys."

Castle and Beckett looked up the stairs at Alexis.

"You're standing under the mistletoe."

Beckett looked up and saw the green plant hanging from the roof. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Alexis disappear so she returned her gaze to Castle who looked slightly embarrassed.

"Mother hung it there because we were getting a lot of deliveries. Thankfully for her they were all young men."

Beckett nodded but noticed he made no attempt to kiss her under the mistletoe. Maybe because he was scared, like her father said. He was too scared to kiss her. If it was going to happen, it was up to her. She had to be strong. Beckett took a step forward and pushed Castle a few steps back. It was then that she rose up on her toes and kissed him. Her lips played over his briefly before she pulled back. He stood there staring at her before looking up at the roof.

"You know we are no longer standing under the mistletoe."

Beckett nodded.

"I don't understand." Beckett had kissed him. She wasn't drunk, it wasn't a dream, they weren't distracting goons. She kissed him.

Beckett reached out and grabbed his hand.

"I want this, Castle, but I have been afraid. But I learned something last night. If I am scared all I have to do is hold your hand and pass all my fears on to you. You can hold my hand and pass all your fears on to me. Our fears can meet in the middle and explode."

Castle looked at her, shocked.

"I ... what... how the..."

Beckett stopped his rambling by kissing him yet again. When she pulled back he was smiling at her.

"Stay."

Fear swept through Beckett; this was all so new and strange. Castle grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"We could just hold hands."

Beckett laughed and nodded.

"Ok."

Together, hand in hand, Beckett and Castle walked off, towards their future.

High up in the sky a man in a red suit looked down on the pair. Getting them together hadn't just been the Christmas wish of Rick and Kate, it had been that for millions of Caskett fans around the world.

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!"

And with a jingle of bells Santa and his nine reindeer dashed away into the starry night sky.

The end.

**Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good write!**


End file.
